Russians fear aging more than repression – poll

Russians have nearly lost their fear of returning to Stalinism while old age and helplessness scare them more, a recent poll showed.

The number of those concerned over a new wave of Stalin-era repression, anarchy, and civil wars has shrunk by nine times and 6.5 times respectively in comparison with a similar poll taken by the same pollster, VTsIOM, back in 1992.

In January of this year, these groups number just 1 and 4 percent respectively, the research center for public opinion revealed on its website on Monday.

The main fear, however, has remained the same. But if in the beginning of the 1990s, all together 54 percent were worried about their children’s future, but this number has now shrunk to 32 percent.

The general trend is that the last decade of relative stability propped by soaring oil prices has seen the country’s population losing interest in the country’s affairs, Leonid Byzov, VTsIOM’s analytical department head, told BFM.ru.

“At present, 12 percent are actively interested in politics, the rest live their own lives, without expecting either good or bad in the near future,” he said.

Optimists, however, are also present and number as much as 11 percent who were sure that there were no threats for Russia to face. In 2002, only 1 percent had this view.

About the same number of people, all together 10 percent of the 1,600 people from 46 Russian regions who took part in the survey on Jan 12-13, said that the establishment of a dictatorship could be something to worry about. Eleven years ago, this fear was shared by just 3 percent.